Yemen - Sana'a and Hadhramawt

Sana’a, Yemen’s capital sits 2,250 metres high in the mountains which run along the west of the country. It is said to have been founded by Noah’s son, Shem, after the floodwaters subsided. Certainly it is one of the longest continually inhabited cities in the world and many of its buildings date back over 1,000 years.

The old city is a UNESCO world heritage site and is dominated by hundreds of ‘tower houses’ that are several stories high, and decorated with friezes, tiling and stained glass windows. This heritage has been under threat since the civil war and some considerable damage was caused by the Saudi airstrikes in 2015.

Around 500 kilometres away in the eastern lowland area of Hadhramawt lies Shibam, a second city of ancient skyscrapers, and another UNESCO world heritage site. Again, this region has been inhabited since the earliest times, with reference made to it in the Book of Genesis.

Shibam itself dates from the 3rd century AD, although the current incarnation of the city is ‘only’ about 500 years old. Known as the ‘Manhattan of the Desert’ the buildings are made of mudbricks and must be continually renewed by its inhabitants. Numbering only about 5,000 they have not yet expanded beyond the town’s old walls, preserving a view of the town that has changed little for centuries.